


can't stop bleeding love

by JMoonrise



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Just a bit of silliness, Light-Hearted, feel good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28231179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMoonrise/pseuds/JMoonrise
Summary: "Honey, that's a lot of blood."
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65
Collections: Supergirl Femslash Secret Santa 2020





	can't stop bleeding love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IHaveTheWrongGlass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IHaveTheWrongGlass/gifts).



> My contribution for the Supergirl Femslash Secret Santa 2020
> 
> I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors.

i.

It happens on a Tuesday.

Lena is in and out of meetings, dealing with the production team on a few glitches in their newest tech, fielding concerns from investors on an upcoming launch, and of course appeasing members of her board who feel she fails to measure up to her brother. It’s headache inducing and she’s dangerously close to unravelling.

Her cellphone remained eerily silent throughout the day— which not necessarily odd in nature— despite fervent promises to keep her updated whispered between a flurry of kisses. It’s late in the afternoon- -the sun rests low in the sky, reflecting off glass skyscrapers, illuminating the beauty of the city- -when she finally has the opportunity to release her hair, rubbing her temples to relieve some of the tension that’s built up, and to slip her feet out of her shoes. While stylish and necessary for her work image, they’re impractical and uncomfortable. And sometimes she despises the necessity of having a work mask and the lessons instilled about never revealing her true face.

She sits back in her chair, muscles relaxing instead of coiling tightly every time someone doubts her capabilities or throws a thinly veiled insult at her. In her office, she’s in control and no one else is around to see her like this. She’s accustomed to it in both this universe and the last.

What she’s not used to is the worry and nerves eating away at the lining of her stomach. It’s constant and foreign. From the moment she crawled out of bed, readying herself for her day, she had this feeling of dread pooling in her belly, growing and growing as the day progressed. Now she fears it’s the size of a planet. She tried her best to keep focused and not dwell on it, but Lena knew something was wrong. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, just that something isn’t right. 

And as she flips on the television, she realizes she was right all along. She had good reason to trust her intuition. Sometimes doubt prickles are her when she has that feeling. She’s been wrong. But sometimes she’s unbelievably right.

It’s Kara. Of course it is. It’s always Kara. 

Lena is out of her seat within seconds, phone pressed to her ear, sliding into her dreaded shoes as she rushes out of her office. “What happened?” She asks when someone finally answers. She forgoes all pleasantries, electing to skip right to what matters.

“Well hello to you.” Lena grits her teeth, lacking some of her well practiced and long developed patience.

“Now isn’t the time for your little jokes. How is she? Is she conscious? Is she injured? Why didn’t anyone call me?” She repeatedly taps the down button, wishing desperately the elevator would hurry instead of travelling at a slow crawl. She makes a mental note to consider plans for increasing the speed in the future.

“She’s fine,” Alex assures. “She blew out her powers. It happens sometimes. She’s a little banged up, but nothing a few days in the sun can’t handle. She just needs to recharge so to speak.”

“She’s not a battery,” Lena retorts, stepping into the elevator. She hates Alex’s blasé attitude and how she’s treating the whole situation. Perhaps she’s coming on strong, but she’s never had an opportunity to be in this side of things. She was a last resort call when the caped hero needed life saving measures. She wasn’t the best friend or the panicked girlfriend. She was a means to an end then. “I saw the footage. She fell multiple stories and landed with a crack.” Her foot taps in rhythm with the decreasing numbers on the panel. She tries not to think about the broadcast playing on a loop on her television.

The mics picked up a sickening _crunch_ as Kara hit the street, body unmoving and eyes firmly shut. DEO agents were on the scene within minutes to collect her, while wrangling the latest terror of National City. Not once had the camera captured a sign of life from the city’s hero.

“I understand you’re worried. She’s perfectly fine. We sent her home about thirty minutes ago after a thorough check up. She regained consciousness on the way to headquarters.”

“You let her go?” Lena screeches, nearly snapping a heel.

“It’s this sort of reaction that makes me realize I should’ve noticed you were in love with my sister a lot sooner,” Alex comments drily. “Lena, go home and see for yourself.” There’s a hint of something akin to amusement injected in her tone, but Lena fails to see what could be humorous about Kara having no powers and escaping another life or death situation. Alex has disliked Lena in the past for taking too much interest in her sister, so her current reaction confuses her.

She hangs up without exchanging a goodbye, feeling thoroughly irritated with her girlfriend’s sister. Her town car waits for her outside the entrance, the driver holding the door open for her. Lena manages to flash a tiny smile, sliding into the backseat, leg bouncing impatiently and with a touch of irritation.

She knows it isn’t Alex’s fault that she wasn’t informed at the outset about Kara’s injury and that it’s likely the woman in question who kept her from calling. Kara hates to worry her and even more feels awful when she takes Lena away from her work. Out of everyone in her life, she above everyone else understands what the company means to her and the lengths she’s gone to preserve it after her brother nearly destroyed it… again.

“Everything alright Ms. Luthor?” Her driver asks. “You seem tense.”

“I’m fine Liam. A bit tired and stressed is all.” She dismisses his concerns, unlocking her phone to create a reminder to give him a raise. He’s always been lovely and trustworthy, most of all discreet. Sometimes when Kara is in the car things have a way of getting away from her and she loses all sense of decorum. Lillian would be scandalized to know all of her lessons have been tossed out the window and continue to go to waste. But she’s done caring what her family thinks and feels. She’s living for herself these days. “Thank you for asking. How’s the wife and kids?”

“They’re doing great, ma’am. Allison has recently started high school. She’s loving her science and math classes. She’s hoping to work for L-Corp, says your advancements in medicine are something.” Lena flushes at the praise. “I don’t understand much of what she’s talking about, smart as a whip that one.”

“That’s wonderful. And if she’s in search of an internship, send her my way.”

She appreciates the idle small talk he offers, if only to keep her mind clear. Kara never strays far from her thoughts. Until she lays eyes on her, has the chance to check her over for herself, she won’t be able to settle.

“Here we are Ms. Luthor.” He pulls to a stop in front of a ranch style house, the driveway obscured by a thicket of trees. 

“Thank you Liam. I can get the door myself.” She waves him off when he attempts to get out of the car. “I won’t be going out anymore tonight, so you have the night off to spend with Ellen and the kids.”

Lena tries, she really does not to break out into a sprint, but she feels the worry clawing at her insides and the dread cooly crawling through her veins. She’s cold and there’s only one thing for it. She needs to hug girlfriend. She’s desperate for reassurance of Kara’s well-being.

Within seconds, she’s at the front door, key twisting in the lock until she hears a loud click, and then she’s in. Her shoes and coat are left behind in a heap as she goes in search of Kara. “Kara? Honey, where are you?” She calls when she hears a loud clatter from the laundry room. Her forehead crinkles with concern. Kara never does the laundry, often finding the job tedious and she’s not always attentive to directions on tags. Lena banned her from the space after the last incident involving the shrinking of a very expensive blouse.

Her pace quickens as she navigates through their home, halting at the entrance, eyes wide as saucers. “Honey,” she fails to keep her voice from squeaking, concern taking over her features. “That’s a lot of blood.” Her eyes trail over her girlfriend searching for any injuries, lingering over her multicoloured skin, and a few half healed cuts. Her eyes continue to dart back to the suit, drenched in red. It’s a lot of blood.

And it is.

Lena has seen with her own eyes how blood pools, at least from gun shot wounds and some of her own past injuries. But she’s never seen it quite like this. Kara’s supersuit is saturated in it, droplets of red dripping into the sink. The blood coats her family’s crest and Lena can’t take her wide eyes off of it. Her hands find their way to her hips as she levels Kara with a glare.

“I can explain.”

ii.

It starts to become a pattern. It happens again on Friday, then a Sunday, a Wednesday and too many times for her to keep count. 

Kara frequently overexerts herself, taking on the nastiest beings and coming away with far too many injuries for Lena’s comfort. She understands the biology of Kara’s race and their healing abilities under their yellow sun, but it doesn’t wash away her worry every time it happens.

Kara has blown out her powers again. And it’s taking a little longer for them to come back with the storm system that hovers over them. Lena has heard her endless complaints and knows when to nod and hum during the long winded rants.

“Don’t you have a job that requires you to do something besides stare out the window?” She smirks, leaning against the door of Kara’s office.

Kara whirls around, too quickly, toppling out of her chair onto the floor. For a while she was convinced the clumsiness was an act until Kara continued to trip and bump into objects when she no longer had to keep up the guise. Even the occasional stutter and spaciness was just a part of Kara.

“I don’t have any pressing deadlines,” Kara eventually answers, pushing herself off the floor and shooting Lena a glare. “And usually when work is boring I at least have Supergirl duties, but I don’t even have that.” She scowls. Though Kara would hate it, Lena finds it absolutely endearing. She loves when Kara gets all worked up and sometimes eggs her on. And her little pout is too adorable.

“Maybe next time you won’t go running into a situation without back-up,” Lena quips, entering the space and taking the seat opposite of Kara. “Besides the rain should clear by tomorrow.”

“Le-na,” Kara whines, dragging out the syllables of her girlfriend’s name. “It’s not fair. I’m bored.”

“Weren’t you supposed to transcribe your notes from that interview you did yesterday?” She raises a brow as Kara flushes, shuffling some loose papers on her desk.

“Ow,” she cries out.

“What? What is it?”

Kara shakes her head, holding her hand in her lap. “It’s nothing.”

“You wouldn’t have said ow if it was nothing.”

Lena squints at the stacks of paper, eyes latching onto a sliver of red. And it dawns on her what has happened. The corners of her lips twitch. “Kara,” she says, holding back her laughter. “Did you get a paper cut?”

“No.”

“You totally did. Let me see it.”

“I didn’t,” she protests. “I don’t get paper cuts.” She juts her chin out stubbornly.

“Apparently you do.”

“Ugh.” She holds out her hand where blood trickles down her palm.

“Geez, this is reminding me of the last time when I left you unsupervised in the kitchen and you sliced your hand with a kitchen knife. This is a lot of blood for a baby cut.” Lena dabs at the blood with a tissue, shaking her head in amazement. If anyone could see Supergirl now, they would never believe that the Super could be brought down by a single paper cut. “How did you even do this?”

Kara shrugs as she rifles through the drawers in her desk, exclaiming “Aha,” when she manages to find a band-aid.

And Lena finally understands the something she couldn’t quite detect in Alex’s phone call. She’s beginning to understand that a Kara without her powers is prone to accidents. Her legs are usually mottled with various shades of purple, blue, and green from all the corners she bumps into and Lena knows better than to leave her alone in the kitchen. If anything, Kara needs her powers so she doesn’t break her neck doing everyday activities. “How did you manage to get to the age of thirteen without any kind of powers?”

“Why does everyone ask this?”

“Weelll,” Lena drawls, gesturing to the blonde in question. “Have you seen yourself? You’re like a walking accident.”

“Rude!”

“But honest.”

iii.

The holidays quickly approach and it’s still a bit of an issue, but Kara has at least learn to wait for help. 

With Christmas drawing near, shops decorate their storefronts for the season, street lights are dressed in pretty bows, and the crisp cool air whips about. Lena’s mind drifts to her first real holiday in the city— the first time she realized that as all powerful as Supergirl seemed, she wasn’t immortal. The anniversary of Supergirl’s infamous battle with Reign is approaching and Lena is stuck on the events of that time. She was so sure then that the mysterious events around the city were tied to Morgan Edge. It made sense with the information she had at her disposal. But all along, it was tied to Kara’s home planet and Kara herself.

“What’s got you so pensive?” Kara pokes the space between her brows. “You look all serious and you’ve got the crinkle.”

“That was you during Reign, right?”

“What?”

Lena shakes her head. “Not the _us_ fighting parts. We’ve gone over that. I meant the part where Reign nearly killed you.”

The footage from up above was terrifying. Sure she and Supergirl weren’t particularly close, but she appreciated the hero’s efforts and respected her. It was a few months later when whatever existed between them dissolved and there was a shift in their interactions. “Oh…”

“Y-you- - there was so much blood.”

Kara’s eyes snap to hers, blue and green meeting. Her gaze softens as she chews on her lower lip. Lena feels her reluctance to share about that time. It’s less in relation to her keeping secrets and more about how ashamed she was of her behavior back then. “I almost died or did die. It’s all very confusing. I don’t remember much except for Brainy popping into my head like some bad acid trip.”

Lena thinks about her place in Kara’s life at the time. “I didn’t know. All I saw was a bloodied and broken hero, but that’s not- - it was you.”

“It was,” she replies, her gaze solemn.

“They had to cordon off the street to keep people from trying to collect samples of your blood and trying to take advantage of the whole thing. The city was in an absolute panic.”

“Yeah, Alex told me.”

“I have to admit it scares me every time I see you covered in blood.”

“Even when I get little baby paper cuts?”

“Especially then,” Lena says. “Most people believe you’re indestructible. You’re definitely stronger and more durable than a human, but you’ve got your limitations too. Sometimes all I see is red when you go off to fight.”

Kara’s brows knit together, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. “You’re not the only one who feels that way.” She eventually says, sighing as she scoots closer to Lena. Her fingers lightly ghost over the veins extending from Lena’s wrist. “You’re fragile and delicate, not in your head, but your body. When you put yourself in dangerous situations, it terrifies me.”

“I have to do what I can.” She tilts her head, clenching her jaw. She refuses to stand aside when she can help. It reminds her of something her cowardly, spineless family would do and she strives to do the opposite.

“I know and so do I. But you know how I told you about all of those alternatives timelines I explored?” Lena nods, confusion painted across her features. “In one of them, Reign impaled you from behind. And there was, there was all this blood and I saw the light fade from your eyes. I know it wasn’t really you, at least this you, but it was someone you could’ve been.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Honestly?” She lifts her eyes and Lena sees the fear and everything Kara has ever tried to hide reflected back at her. “It made me realize that I love you. That I had always loved you. I would do anything to save you even if it means I get hurt in the process.”

“Then you must know I would do the same because I love you the same.”

“Yeah,” Kara grins. “I do.”

“That’s not for five more months.”

“I’ll try not to bleed too much before then, or throw myself into dangerous situations without having a plan in place.”

“That’s all I ask. And I suppose you expect me to make the same promise?” Kara bobs her head. “Oh fine, if I must.”

“Oh and um Lena?”

“Yeah?”

“I have to run out, but I promise to clean the mess in the bathtub. It’s just a little stream of blood from when I was shaving earlier.”

_Twenty minutes later_

"Little stream of blood my ass," she growls when she spies the streaks of red crisscrossing in the tub. “Honey, that is a _lot_ of blood.” And she knows wherever Kara is in the city, she can hear her.


End file.
